In January of 2012 the SAFD Communications Division moved its dispatch center or Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) to Brooks City Base on the South East side of San Antonio. The new state-of-the-art facility has a foot print of approximately forty thousand square feet.
Each of the personnel has been formally trained in Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) and Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD). Crews provide round-the-clock service to any external customers, 911 callers, and to any internal customers. All of the personnel are required to have EMS field experience and maintain their Paramedic certification from the Texas Department of State Health Services. The SAFD Communications Division also has a cross-trained staff that maintains and operates the SAFD Command Bus in coordination with the Technical Services Division.
Dispatcher
In addition to the call-taking and dispatch duties, the Communications Division is also responsible for:
- Monitoring and managing SAFD resources.
- Providing a dedicated tactical dispatcher to working structure fires and other large incidents.
- Communicating with outside agencies, such as CPS or Red Cross, on behalf of field personnel.
- Monitoring the Heat Index and adjusting response levels – the num¬ber of responders to specific incident types.
- Providing medical information to hospitals, care providers, SAPD, and other approved outside agencies, as appropriate.
The Communications Division is overseen by the Assistant Chief of Information Technologies, Executive officer and four shift supervisors. Each shift is staffed with eleven Call Takers/Dispatchers and one shift supervisor who also provides backup or overflow call taking duties. The division also has a dedicated training Lieutenant who is certified by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection.
The communications Division doesn’t stop with 911 call taking and dispatching. Within the Communication Division is the Technical Services Division. Technical Services is responsible for:
- Maintaining all portable and mobile radios
- Maintaining mobile data terminals and computer equipment
- Outfitting, staffing and maintaining specialized vehicles such as the :
- Command Bus
- Multi-Patient Vehicle or Ambus
- Rehab Bus which
- Command Truck
Command Bus
Multi-Patient Vehicle or Ambus
The Technical Services Division is overseen by the Assistant Chief of Information Technologies, a Lieutenant supervisor and a Technical Services Coordinator.
Driving directions to the Academy from MapQuest
| Communication Quick Facts |
- 44 Call Takers/Dispatchers
- 4 Lieutenant Supervisors
- 1 Executive Officer
- 1 Training Officer
- 1300 Portable Radios, including 141 Multi-band Radios
- Total Number of Calls Received in 2013: 328, 562
- Average Daily Call Received: 900
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